Marriage between people of the same sex: an approach from the politics of recognition

Abstract

This paper reviews the discussion on same-sex marriage in the light of the political theory of recognition. This perspective is especially useful to expose the conflict that underlies the claim that the legalization of same-sex marriage will solve the discrimination suffered by sexual minorities. First, it analyses and discards the main objections against same-sex marriage based on a policy of equal recognition. Then, it questions the policies of affirmative recognition arguing that access to marriage for those who are currently excluded is a solution that does not account for the relevant differences of certain sexual minorities, which anyway would be affected by other forms of non-recognition. This opposition to the recognition of equality in the marital realm, presented fundamentally by queer theory, and that can be recoded in terms of a demand for recognition of the difference, leads to consider some alternatives to the egalitarian interpretation of marriage that are sensitive to the concerns of this perspective.